Permanent waving



March 12, 1940. H. BEIKE PERMANENT WAVING Filed Nov. 6, 1937 2 Sheet's She ei. 1

March 12, 1940. BElKE 2,193,086

PERMANENT WAVING Filed Nov. '6, 19:57 2 Sheetm-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERMANENT WAVING York Application November 6, 1937, Serial No. 173,063

9 Claims.

The invention relates to permanent waving and more especially to a new and improved heating device for use in permanent waving wherein the heat is created by resistance to electrolytic conduction.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a heating pad embodying one form of the invention, with the terminals of the electrodes unfolded and part of the insulating sheet broken away;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the terminals in position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a tress wound and clamped for waving with the heating pad shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a top plan of another heating pad with the insulating covering broken away and the terminals folded back to show a modified arrangement of the electrodes;

Fig. 5 is a similar top plan of another modification using a wire mesh fabric for the electrodes;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail of the elements of the wire mesh fabric shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of another modification showing an electrode-carrying clamp in position about a wound curl and absorbent;

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 8--8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on line 99 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a developed plan view of one of the electrode elements used in the clamp shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9.

The invention is directed to providing a novel and useful electrolytically conductive heating device for permanent waving which avoids certain disadvantages and possible commercial objections to previously known types of such heating devices. One object of the invention is to provide an electrolytically conductive heating pad in which the conductivity of the pad and hence the wattage consumption thereof is rendered more uniform because the pad is so designed that the conductivity thereof is independent of the thickness and/or absorbency of the electrolyte carrier and is likewise largely independent of pressure against the pad. The invention also permits con siderable flexibility in determination of the voltages to be passed through the electrodes without varying the construction, thickness or resistance characteristics of the electrolyte carrier. By the present invention the voltage to be applied to the electrodes for obtaining the desired heating action may be accurately controlled by the spacing, arrangement and shape of the electrodes without requiring any change in the characteristics of the electrolyte carrier.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heating pad or device of the type described in which metallic electrodes and other foreign materials are maintained out of contact with the hair and in which thehair waving vapors, steam and waving chemicals are more uniformly contacted with the hair, without interference or deflection by an electrode between the lotion carrier and the hair. Thus the hair is given the advantage of complete and uniform contact with the lotion or other hair waving chemicals, while discoloration or harm to thehair from contact with current carrying electrode is avoided. A further object of the invention is to improve the uniformity and quality of electrolytic heating pads in quantity production and also to reduce the cost thereof.

Broadly described, the invention comprises an electrolytically conductive heating device in which a sheet or layer of absorbent material carries the ionizable solution (which if desired may also be the hair waving chemical or lotion), and in which the electrodes are both placed on or applied to the same face of the absorbent sheet, preferably the face remote from and opposite to that which contacts the hair. Thus the electrolytic conduction takes place between the electrodes through the absorbent sheet or electrolyte carrier near the face touched by the electrodes and consequently remote from the hair. This construction gives rise to the various advantages outlined above, as well as to others as will appear hereinafter. In practice the heating pad embodying the invention preferably will have each electrode subdivided into a plurality of relatively small, spacedapart surfaces intercalated with similar surfaces of the other electrode and all contacting the same face or side of the electrolyte carrier. These electrodes may be permanently fixed to the electrode carrier, or in a modified form of the invention may be engageable temporarily therewith either before or after the electrolyte carrier has been placed adjacent the hair.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the present embodiment of the invention illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, a preferred form thereof is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. As embodied, an electrolyte carrier is provided comprising a rectangular sheet I of absorbent material such as flannel, felt, blotting paper, or other similar material having the size and shape required for application about a curled tress of hair which is ready for the waving chemicals and heat to effect a permanent wave. As shown, the preferred embodiment of the invention is designed for application to Croquignole wound curls, but it will be clear that the principal features of the invention are equally applicable to curls of the so-called spiral type, i. e., those wound helically from the scalp outwardly.

In conformance with the invention an electrode 2, preferably made of a suitable metal sheet, such as zinc or lead foil, is fixed in close contact with the upper surface of the absorbent pad I. As shown, said electrode is preferably subdivided into a plurality of relatively small, spacedapart surfaces comprising the elongated tongues 3 which extend substantially the full length of the pad I and are equally spaced apart for a distance somewhat greater than their own widths. The laterally-extending solid portion 4 of the electrode 2 serves as a contact terminal and is adapted to be bent over to overlie the upper face of the pad I as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A second electrode 6 is similarly sub-divided into longitudinal tongues l which are adapted to be intercalated with the tongues 3 of electrode 2, extending therebetween from the opposite end of the pad I and similarly contacting the upper surface thereof. In like manner the electrode 6 is provided with a terminal extension 8. In this form the electrode faces are preferably held in contact with the upper surface of the pad I by a suitable electrolytically conductive adhesive which holds the electrodes against the pad face and prevents relative movement of the parts.

For insulating the contact terminals 4 and 8 from the electrode surfaces of opposite polarity, an insulating sheet 9 of parchment paper or similar material is adhered to the upper face of the assembled pad I and electrodes 2 and 6, the contact terminals t and 8 thereafter being folded in to overlie and be aiiixed to the sheet 9. The insulating sheet 9 also serves to integrate the device structurally, preventing relative movement of the parts and protecting the more delicate electrode tongues 3 and i from harm. The sheet 9 is preferably resistant to the passage of moisture and vapors and consequently prevents the outward escape of steam, vapor and moisture from the curl when the heating pad is in use.

The above-described device is shown in Fig. 3 in its position of use. The tress T is shown wound in conventional Croquignole fashion on a curler II] which is supported and spaced from the scalp of the wearer by a conventional type clamp Ii. As shown, the heating pad is placed about the curl above the clamp in the usual manner and may be suitably compressed and held thereagainst by any suitable gripping means (not shown) The absorbent I is, of course, first wetted in a sui' able electrolytic solution, which preferably is also a hairwaving lotion, in accordance with practice now generally standard in the art. If desired, the pad I may have been previously impregnated with some or all of the chemicals to be used, the specific composition of the electrolyte and its manner of preparation forming no essential part of the present invention. The application of low voltage terminals of opposite polarities to the opposite contact members 4 and 8 of the two electrodes is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 3.

From the embodiment of the invention hereinabove described it will be clear that the electrodes both contact solely with a single face or surface of the electrolyte carrier and preferably with that surface which is remote from the hair when in use. Thus conduction takes place along relatively short arcuate paths which dip down into the upper part of the pad I between adjacent branches 3 and I of the two electrodes. Accordingly it becomes relatively immaterial whether the pad I is of great or little thickness and whether it is uniform in thickness and absorbency throughout, in contrast with prior types of electrolytic heating pads in which these factors had a material influence on the conductivity and wattage consumption of the pad because the electrodes were on opposite sides of the pad. Likewise, the amount of pressure applied to the pad has a relatively small effect on the conductivity thereof as it does not vary the distances between the electrodes. Thus the operation of the pads will not depend materially upon the individual operator with regard to the amount of squeezing or compression applied to the pad, nor, between wide limits, with regard to the amount of electrolyte in the pad. Other things being equal it is possible with the pad of the present invention to use a relatively higher voltage because of the variability permissible in the spacing between adjacent branches of the electrodes. Thus with a given solution one may employ a voltage in the order of ten or even fifteen volts as contrasted with say three or four volts when used on a pad of the type with opposed electrodes. Such relatively high voltages are frequently advantageous in operation especially in cases where voltage loss due to corrosion or other factors is encountered.

It will be obvious that with the above-described pad the hairwaving solution in the pad I contacts directly and uniformly with the surface of the hair being waved and is not interfered with by intervening electrodes or other obstructing plies. It is also to be expected that the heating effect of the present pad will result in. a less rapid volatilization of ammonia and other low boiling point chemicals in the waving lotion. That is, with the present invention, the solution directly adjacent the upper surface of the pad is rapidly heated and the heat therefrom is transmitted by conduction to the part of the pad adjacent the hair. Thus the volatile ingredients of the pad are less rapidly dissipated than in a pad in which the current passes uniformly across the entire body of the electrolyte. Consequently ammonia and other volatile chemicals near the hair will have greater opportunity to pass into the hair at a high temperature but before they have been boiled away. It is also possible to maintain the conductivity and heating action of the pad at a more uniform rate because fresh electrolyte will tend to flow into those parts of the pad which are directly in the path of the current, thus keeping the conducting parts supplied with fresh electrolyte from the remote parts of the pad. This arrangement also tends to bring in contact with the hair only that electrolyte which has not been directly subject to the passage of current and thus retains its chemical characteristics unchanged by electrolysis.

The form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 is intended to be illustrative of the general principles of the invention and of a preferred form thereof, but the invention is not limited thereto either with respect to the arrangement nor construction of the electrodes. It will be obvious, for example, that the electrodes may extend crosswise of the rectangular pad rather than lengthwise as shown, and that many difierent arrangements for subdividing and intercalating the electrodes may be designed. One such modification of electrode arrangement is shown in Fig. 4, where the electrodes 22 and 2B are formed with relatively long, narrow tongues 23 and 21, respectively, which are shaped in the form of rectangular spirals intermeshing and equally spaced from each other throughout the surface of the pad I. The other features of the pad are similar to those of the form shown in Fig. 1, as will be clear from the drawings.

A different construction and arrangement of electrodes embodying the invention is shown in Fig. 5 wherein the two intercalated electrode surfaces are formed of very narrow strips or strands of metal which may conveniently be shaped as continuous wires. Thus the electrode 32 comprises a continuous wire which runs back and forth along the upper surface of the pad 1 in a plurality of continuous parallel loops. The second electrode 36 is also formed of wire and is looped back and forth across the surface of the pad at right angles to the loops of electrode 32. The strands of electrode 36 are interwoven with those of electrode 32, a given strand alternately crossing over and then under the adjacent strand of the other, the two electrodes thereby forming a net-like wire mesh wherein the paths of conduction between adjacent electrode strands are relatively numerous and short. In order to prevent metallic short circuits at each junction of the electrode strands, the strands or wires are preferably coated or covered with an insulating covering 35 (Fig. 6). In accordance with the invention the covering 35 is an insulator against metallic conduction, but is preferably formed of some liquid-absorbent material, such as a cotton or silk fabric. Thus when the pad has been wetted with the electrolyte solution, the covered electrode wires will conduct electrolytically through their insulating coverings but will prevent metallic short circuits. If preferred, the interlaced wires 32 and 36 may be permanently insulated from each other only at the junction points, leaving the remaining parts bare, but this would be a more expensive construction. While the wire mesh fabric of electrodes is shown in Fig. 5 as lying on the surface of the absorbent pad I, it may be partially or wholly imbedded therein if desired. Suitable contact terminal pieces of foil 34 and 38 may be attached to the opposite ends of the electrode strands 32 and 36' and exposed for contact over the insulating sheet 9 as with the forms hereinbefore described. If preferred, different types of contact terminals may be provided on the ends of the strands, more similar to those ordinarily used with wires, as will be clear to those skilled in the art.

Another form of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10 Whereinapplication of the principles engaged from a separate electrolyte carrier.

thereof is'made to a more permanent form of electrode adapted to be attached to and dis- As embodied, the electrode members are adapted to be carried by the gripping faces of a bifurcated clamp having similar opposed arms 40 and 4! hinged together about a common pivot 42 and spring-urged toward each other at their lower ends by a spring 43 of conventional construction and arrangement. The outer ends of the clamp members 40 and 4| form handles which are adapted to be pressed together by thumb pressure to separate the lower concave opposed jaws 45 and 46 of Bakelite or similar molded insulating material. The inner faces of the handle members 40 and 4| are recessed at 41 to receive the ends of two power cables 48 and 49 which carry current of opposite polarities to: each side of the clamp, as will be clear from Figs. 7 and 8.

It will be clear that the general construction and the electrode and power arrangements of each of the two members of the clamp are identical,

so that the following description will apply equally to either member.

Each side of the clamp is adapted to support two electrodes of opposite polarities attached to and projecting from its concave gripping face, said electrodes being spaced apart and intercalated to form an electrode arrangement similar in general operative features to those hereinbefore described. A typical electrode blank is shown in Fig. 10 comprising a generally U-shaped strip of metal 50 adapted to lie against and extend along the inner concave face of the clamp member 45. Said member 50 may be rigidly but re movably attached to the face of the clamp by struck down tongues 51', 52 and 53 formed at the opposite ends of the U-shaped member and seated in appropriate recesses 54 in the face of the clamp. An upstanding strip 55. extends from the upper branch of the member 50 to seat in the recess 41 of the clamp and make electrical contact with the bared end of the power cable 49. A suitable contact tongue 56 is bendable about said end of the cable for contact, while the T- shaped end 51 may be bent in to form a collar about the insulation thereabove.

It will be clear from Fig. 8 that a similar electrode fill of opposite polarity is also seated in the concave face of the clamp member 46, the up standing strip 6| being spaced from the strip and recessed into the face of the clamp member 46 at 63 so as to pass beneath and avoid contact with the upper branch of the electrode 533. As

will be clear from Fig. 8 the branches of the elec trode 50 are substantially uniformly spaced from and intercalated with the similar branches of the electrode so that the arcuate inner surface of the clamp member 46 is substantially uniformly covered by these electrodes. In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the electrode members 50 and 60 may be provided with a plurality of rows of projections or teeth it formed along either side of the electrode branches and struck up so that they project away from the concave faces of the clamp. As will be clear from Fig. 7 the electrode clamp in use is adapted to be positioned about an electrolyte carrier Hill with a wound tress T surrounded thereby. Thus the electrodes on each gripping face 45 and 46 contact with and temporarily engage the electrolyte carrier in a firm and substantial contact. The multiple, teeth 10 on both electrodes imbed themselves in the tissue of the electrolyte carv rier, thus providing contacting surface as well as affording a strong and steady connection between the carrier and the electrodes. In use the clamp may be aifixed to the electrolyte carrier after same has been placed about the curled. tress T, or if preferred the electrolyte carrier may be first engaged with the electrodes within the concave faces of the clamp and then the clamp and carrier positioned together about the tress.

With the form of the invention shown in Figs. 7 to 10 it will be clear that the electrodes 50 and Eli will constitute a more permanent part of the system than will the electrolyte carrier II) which may be discarded after a single use. Accordingly the metal forming the electrodes will preferably be one which is little subject to corrosion or electrolytic decomposition under low voltage alternating current use. I have found stainless steel to be particularly effective for this purpose, while the noble metals, silver and gold, are also good. The construction described permits ready cleaning of the electrode surfaces as by dip-ping in a suitable cleansing solution.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and. without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:

1. An electrolytically-conoluctive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of. one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first electrode, each electrode comprising a plurality of relatively small substantially uniform, spaced-apart surfaces intercalated with those of the other electrode, whereby all paths of electrolytic conduction terminate in the surface of the carrier which is remote from the hair and substantially uniformly over said surface.

2. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first electrode whereby electrolytic conduction between the electrodes takes place through that part of the carrier which is remote from the hair, each electrode comprising a plurality of relatively small, spaced-apart surfaces distributed substantially uniorn 1y over said carrier surface and intercalated with those of the other electrode.

3. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first eiectrod said electrodes each comprising a piece of in metal foil formed in plurality of spaced tongues intercalated with those of the other electrode, the spaces between the tongues of one electrode and the adjacent tongues of the other electrode being small and spaced substantially uniformly over the surface of the carrier.

4. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of. the carrier and spaced from the first electrode whereby electrolytic conduction between the electrodes takes place through that part of the carrier which is remote from the hair, said electrodes being formed as an interwoven metallic fabric, the elements of, which are insulated from each other when dry by an electrolyte-absorbent coating.

5. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first electrode a distance small compared to the thickness of the carrier whereby electrolytic conduction between the electrodes takes place through that part of the carrier which is remote from the hair, said electrodes being attachable to and removable from the carrier.

6. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first electrode wherebyelectrolytic conduction between the electrodes takes place through that part of the carrier which is remote from the hair, said electrodes being attachable to and removable from the carrier, and having a plurality of projections adapted to pierce and extend into the carrier to form additional contacting surfaces within the body of the carrier.

7. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving, including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, an electrode of one polarity contacting with the opposite surface of the electrolyte carrier and another electrode of opposite polarity contacting with the same surface of the carrier and spaced from the first electrode whereby electrolytic conduction between the electrodes takes place through that part of the carrier which is remote from the hair, said electrodes having a plurality of projections adapted to pierce and extend into the carrier to form additional contacting surfaces within the body of the carrier.

8. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving including in combination an electrolytic carrier, a plurality of relatively small electrode surfaces of one polarity contacting one surface of the carrier and spaced substantially uniformly over said surface, and a plurality of similar electrode surfaces of opposite polarity similarly spaced over the same surface of said carrier, the current paths between adjacent electrode surfaces of opposite polarities being relatively small compared to dimensions of thesurface of the carrier which they contact.

9. An electrolytically-conductive heating device for permanent waving including in combination an electrolytic carrier having a surface adapted to be placed adjacent a strand of hair, a plurality I of relatively small electrode surfaces of one polarity contacting the opposite surface of the carrier and spaced substantially uniformly over said surface, and a plurality of similar electrode surto dimensions ofjthe surface of the carrier which 5 they contact.

HANS BEIKE. 

